Visibilizing the community organization in the design of the city: The case of an intermediate city in Chile

Abstract

The present work assumes that the inclusive development of the city in governance contexts requires the active participation of citizens to ensure their success. However, the evidence indicates that in the design of the city, territorial planning instruments -such as the Communal Regulatory Plan in Chile- put asidea robust participation procedures that legitimize the development process.The hypothesis is that the territorial community organization is undervalued in these processes, even though the current legislation assigns them a role of permanent collaboration with the municipality in the tasks of local development. Especially in the most direct organizational instances in the daily life of the neighbors, because their systematic contribution greatly increases the democratization in the construction of the city.The case work was developed in the municipality of Melipilla through the application of a mixed methodology that uses documentary analysis, semi structured interviews aimed at key actors and a survey applied to thirty-one leaders of active Neighborhood Boards. The findings indicate a low historical link of these units with the processes of territorial organization, missing the opportunities offered by the current community institutions.